5.  The applicant was born in 1966 and lives in Bas-Gordali, Chechnya. She is the sister of Mr Magomed Bimuradov, who was born in 1972.
6.  According to the applicant, at about 3 p.m. on 27 May 2002 (in the documents submitted the date is also referred to as 26 May 2002) Mr Magomed Bimuradov was abducted from a street in the vicinity of his house in Bas‑Gordali by a group of armed masked men in a white car. He was forced into the car which drove away in the direction of the village of Shuani in the Nozhay-Yurt district of Chechnya. The abductors allegedly belonged to the federal forces.
7.  The applicant’s brother has been missing since.
8.  In her submission to the Court the applicant stated that her brother’s abduction had been witnessed by fellow villagers Mr E.Ts. and Ms Kh.Ts. However, she did not furnish statements of those witnesses to the Court. It does not appear that those witnesses gave statements to the official investigation. In support of her application, she submitted an undated joint statement on the factual circumstances of the case given by herself and her two sisters, Ms Kh.B. and Ms Z.Kh., none of whom were present during the abduction.
9.  The Government did not dispute the facts as presented by the applicant, but denied any involvement of State servicemen in the disappearance of Mr Magomed Bimuradov.
10.  The Government submitted a copy of “the entire criminal case file no. 71056” into the abduction of Mr Magomed Bimuradov amounting to seventy-five pages. The information submitted may be summarised as follows.
11.  On 5 June 2002 Mr Magomed Bimuradov’s relatives lodged a complaint about his disappearance stating that he had gone out and had not returned home. The applicant, her four sisters, and other relatives including their father, Mr M.M.B., subsequently maintained correspondence with the authorities.
12.  On 1 October 2002 the Nozhay-Yurt district prosecutor’s office opened criminal case no. 71056 under Article 105 of the Criminal Code (murder).
13.  On 14 October 2002 the applicant was granted victim status in the criminal case.
14.  In October and November 2002 the investigators forwarded information requests concerning Mr Magomed Bimuradov’s possible detention to various law enforcement agencies. The replies were negative.
15.  On 2 December 2002 the investigation was suspended for failure to identify suspects.
16.  On various dates in July 2003 the investigators, at the request of the applicant’s and her relatives, provided them with statements that Mr Magomed Bimuradov had gone missing and that he had not been involved in an illegal armed group.
17.  On 31 March 2004 the military prosecutor’s office of military unit no. 20116 stated in reply to a request of March 2004 from the applicant’s sister, Ms Z.B., that it was impossible to verify the theory of the involvement of military servicemen in her brother’s disappearance.
18.  On 19 April 2005 the investigation was resumed. The applicant was informed thereof.
19.  On 20 May 2005 the investigation was again suspended for failure to identify suspects. The applicant was informed thereof.
20.  According to the applicant, between June 2005 and November 2010 she and her relatives submitted a number of requests to the investigating authorities. For instance, on 8 November 2010 she and a number of other relatives of disappeared persons complained to the North Caucasus Department of the Prosecutor General’s Office about their relatives’ abductions by federal servicemen and the lack of effective investigation into the incidents. No reply was given to this complaint.
21.  On 1 December 2011 the investigation into the disappearance was resumed following a complaint by the applicant’s relatives. The criminal proceedings are still pending.
22.  On 14 October 2002 the investigators questioned the applicant who stated that at about 3 p.m. on 27 May 2001 her brother had left home and had not returned. She also noted that on the same day between 1 p.m. and 2 p.m., prior to her brother’s disappearance, she had seen a suspicious white VAZ-2106 car without a registration number driving around the village.
23.  On 3 May 2005 the investigators questioned the applicant’s sisters, Ms Z.Kh. and Ms Kh.B., and the head of the Bas-Gordali village administration, Mr E.K., whose statements about the events were similar to the applicant’s account before the Court. All of them stated that they had not witnessed the abduction, but had seen a white VAZ car without a registration number driving around in the village that day.